Aliens Aren't Real
by ThatAnonymousAnnie
Summary: Sam and Dean investigate the murder of three people that have been stripped to the bone, but at the scene of the crime, they find a strange, mysterious man named the Doctor that claims the murders are the work of aliens called Vashta Nerada. Is the Doctor correct? Are aliens real? This adventure plunges the brothers into a sea of doubt and discovery.
1. Chapter 1

"Dean, check this out." Sam rifled through the pages of a local newspaper, showing his brother a story near the back page. Dean snatched the paper away from Sam, skimming the words. "Three skeletons found in a home in Colorado. According to dental records, the skeletons belonged to Harry, Sylvia, and Rae Bernadette. And they were all alive and walking... in the past week. This is _definitely_ our kind of thing! We've gotta check this out!" he yelled excitedly, slamming his fork down on his plate and tucking the newspaper into his leather jacket. He urged Sam out of his seat and slipped into the '67 Impala. "Dude, I am SO excited for this! We haven't had a case in, what? Weeks!" Dean ranted to his younger brother. Sam shared the enthusiasm, but didn't show it, like Dean. He was busy thinking, already. "Sure, but what could've done this? I mean, stripped someone to the bone?" he wondered, mostly to himself. Dean shrugged. "I dunno, but I'm sure as hell ready to fight it!"

The Impala rolled up to the scene of the crime, an unassuming little house in an unassuming little neighborhood. Families taking an afternoon stroll spotted the car rolling up to the forsaken house and quickly walked the other way, grabbing their children and hurrying them along. Just past the house, beside the mailbox, was a tall, blue box. The top of the box read 'Police Public Call Box', and there was a small sign underneath one of the two windows. "Dean," Sam said, eyeing the box. "Check this out."  
Dean strolled casually toward the box, admiring it on all sides and stroking the nicely painted blue exterior. "This is nice. What is it?" he asked Sam, the learned of the two. Sam approached the Public Call Box cautiously. "I don't know, Dean. I mean, I read somewhere that they had these boxes in... I dunno. A while ago. I think it's from the 60's. But what's it doing here?" he wondered. Before Dean could reply, something crashed inside the house of interest. "C'mon!" Dean yelled, tugging his gun out of his belt and cocking it. The brothers sprinted back to the house and quietly climbed the stairs to the front door, both armed and ready to kill any predators. They quietly opened the door, which was unlocked, and made their way inside, trying their best to walk lightly and avoid any creaks. They heard a strange buzzing noise from the living room. They decided to find the source of the noise and crept through the house, hiding behind the door frame and communicating silently before swinging around and holding their guns up, aiming at a tall, slim man peering at a small, long rod glowing blue at the tip. "Put your hands up and drop the... thing!" Dean shouted, staring at the rod the man was holding. Immediately, he threw his hands into the air, dropping the tool and surrendering. "Don't shoot! Listen, I'm here on business, I don't mean you any harm. Just put down your guns." he said, trying to persuade the two. Dean laughed uneasily. "Yeah, fat chance buddy. Who are you? What are you doing here?" he demanded. The man tentatively reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a leather wallet and flipping it open, showing it to the two men. "John Smith, Denver Police. I'm here investigating the murders of Harry, Sylvia, and Rae Bernadette." he explained. Sam snatched the credentials away from John Smith and peered at them. He lowered his gun and motioned for Dean to do the same. "Dean..." he whispered. His older brother and he swerved into the kitchen. "Dean, this guy seems friendly enough... but there's something wrong with his I.D." he murmured. Dean peered into the living room and checked on the man, who was peering into the shadows with flashlights. "What do you mean?" he said. Sam showed him the paper. "Look at it. Doesn't it seem... strange to you?"  
"No, it's perfectly fine."  
"Look at it harder. The... the texture's off."  
"Since when have we cared about texture?" Dean said, losing patience. He grabbed the I.D. and took a long look at it. "Sam, there's nothing wrong with this guy's stuff. He checks out." he said, slapping the wallet closed and pushing past Sam back into the living room. "Sorry, sir. I'm Dean Hardener, and this is Sam Myles. We're from the CSPD." He explained, introducing the two using their false names. They handed John Smith their fake I.D.s and he scanned them with the rod he was holding. The rod was the source of the buzzing noise. John started to laugh. "Oh, you two! You two are good, very good!" he exclaimed, handing them back their I.D's. "Those are fake, are they not?" Dean froze. "Um, uh... no, sir. Those are as real as I am." he tried to assure Smith. The man simply laughed. "There's no use trying to fool me I've already seen straight through you!" he raised the tool and buzzed Dean, running the tip up and down his body and reading the side. "You're human..." he did the same process to Sam. "And you're a little more than human, aren't you Sam Winchester?" he said with a smirk. Sam paled. "H-How do you know who I am?"  
"I've got a screwdriver! And you... you're Dean Winchester! Brothers in crime! Ooh, I quite like that."  
"Yeah, I'm Dean, but how the hell do you know who we are using a _screwdriver_?"  
"Well... It's sonic." the man scratched the back of his neck, running his hand through his hair. Dean put his hand on his gun, cautious of the strange man. "Oh, please don't. I don't wanna hurt anybody, just here to investigate."  
"What is that thing?" Sam asked, gesturing to John's 'sonic screwdriver'. He looked down at it and then tossed it in the air, catching it before it clattered to the ground. "A sonic screwdriver!" he said proudly. "With it, I can open any locked object-Well, when I say 'any' I mean anything that isn't wood or deadlocked. I dunno why, but it has a problem with wood. I've been working on that, so don't worry. Most of the time we've just kicked down the door I couldn't open, and you two look fit enough."  
"Who are you?" Dean demanded. John Smith shrugged. "I told you! My name's John Smith, Denver PD." he said again, Dean laughed, pulling out his gun. "No one has a name like 'John Smith' anymore. Now tell us who you really are!" he demanded, squeezing the trigger slightly, but enough to make John tremble. "Alright, alright! I am the Doctor."  
"The 'Doctor'?"  
"Yes, I'm the Doctor. I'm here investigating, that hasn't changed, but if you want to survive the night, you have to listen to me and trust me. I'm only trying to help." he pleaded. Sam put his gun down, but Dean remained firm. "What do you mean?" he interrogated. The Doctor peered at the side of his sonic screwdriver again and paled. "You both need to leave, now." he commanded. Sam laughed. "Oh, so we're just going to leave _our_ investigation because some Doctor tells us to?"  
"I asked you to trust me. If you want to live, leave _now_."  
"Why?"  
"The Vashta Nerada."


	2. Chapter 2

"What are the Vashta Nerada?" Sam inquired curiously. The Doctor put his sonic screwdriver down and gestured to the abnormally dark shadows of the house. "The only thing in the Universe that can strip something to the bone in under a _second._ They come in swarms; huge swarms. They live on every single planet, including this one, but usually feed on roadkill... I don't know what they were doing, feeding off of humans..." the Doctor said, running his hand through his hair again. Dean slightly lowered his gun. "What do you mean, every single planet? Earth is the only one habituated." Sam insisted. The Doctor laughed. "Oh, of course, humans think that, yes, how did I overlook that?" he chuckled. Dean approached the man warily. "Humans? What does that make you?"  
"Well certainly _not_ human, if that's what you mean."  
"Then what are you?"  
The Winchesters stared the Doctor down with accusing eyes, but he did not budge. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."  
"Funny," Dean said, exchanging a glance with his brother. "that's exactly the sort of thing we tell people. So what are you? A demon? Shape-shifter? Ghoul?" he interrogated. The Doctor looked taken aback. "Nonsense, those things don't exist. But I suppose if you insist..." he took a deep breath. "I'm a Time Lord, from the planet Gallifrey. I'm here investigating the Vashta Nerada, which are also aliens. And I know how to say 'Let's go' in French." he said quickly. Dean looked over at Sam and then back at the Doctor. Suddenly, the two of them burst out laughing. "That _is_ weird! What, you some sort of psycho? Listen, buddy. We've been working as Hunters long enough to figure out that _aliens aren't real_. So what are you really?" he demanded.  
"What do you mean, '_aliens aren't real'? _By saying that you're implying _I_ am not real, and you're very lucky I am, otherwise you two probably would be reduced into piles of fat by now. _Walking _fat. You ever seen _walking fat_? I didn't think so. I'll tell you, Sam and Dean Winchester. Aliens are _very _real."  
"Don't be stupid, Doctor. The only things that are real are angels and demons and monsters. Aliens simply don't exist."  
"Well I could say all those things you just listed aren't real but that would be rude, and I am _not_ rude."  
Dean turned to Sam in dismay. "Did you hear that? He's fricking British, Sam."

"If you don't believe me, go into the kitchen and get some meat. Something with a bone. _Now__!_" the Doctor demanded. Sam and his brother jumped, but rushed into the kitchen and tore apart the fridge, searching for meat. At long last, Dean found a raw chicken in the freezer, and brought it to the Doctor, who tore off a leg and looked back at the two. "Watch this and tell me what could possibly do this." he said quietly. With that, he turned and tossed the chicken leg into the shadows. By the time it hit the ground, it was already bare to the bone. Whatever lurked in the shadows had devoured the meat off of it in mere milliseconds. Dean paled. "W-Well, I dunno, something's gotta have been able to do that... we'll just call Bobby. Bobby'll know. Right, Sam?" he said, turning to his brother for support. Sam shrugged, tearing his eyes away from the bone and looking into his brother's eyes. "I... I don't know, Dean. Maybe the Doctor's right. I mean, we deal with monsters and demons every day, so why is it so absurd that there could be aliens?" he said quietly. The Doctor nodded slowly and returned to scanning the shadows with his sonic screwdriver. "Fine. So what do we do?" Dean asked the Doctor. "How do we kill it?"  
The alien looked flustered at the question. "Well... we don't. Just stay out of the shadows, not a _finger_ in the shadows. Nothing, unless you want to get eaten." he warned. Sam self-consciously stepped away from the shadows and nearer to the Doctor's flashlight. "If we can't kill it-"  
"Them. It's a swarm."  
"Okay... if we can't kill _them,_ what do we do?"  
"We run."


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you mean, 'we run'?" Dean demanded harshly. "People have _died_, Doctor, and there will be more if you let these things continue to live!" Sam looked around the room. "How many are there?" he wondered quietly. "Hundreds of thousands. It's a small swarm." he explained. Dean looked incredulous. "Small? Hundreds of thousands is a _small_ swarm? Just how crazy are you?"  
The Doctor ignored him and continued scanning the shadows. "Listen. You two need to get out of here. Your specialty is monsters? Good. Keep it that way and go hunt down something else." the Doctor commanded. Sam and Dean simply ignored his pleas and snatched the flashlight from his grip, swinging it around the room into the shadows. "So they're all around us? In every shadow?" Sam inquired. The Doctor sighed in frustration. "No, they're in _any_ shadow, and I've already located the shadow which they are in. Now _get out_."  
"Listen buddy. We aren't going anywhere, so it's in your best interests to just stop telling us to leave and work with us here. We need to figure out how to kill this thing because we sure as hell ain't going to let it continue living. Now help us out, Doctor." Dean said gruffly. The Doctor paused for a moment but then gave in. "Do you have lights?" he asked. "Do we have what?"  
"Lights. Flood lights, torches, anything."  
"Will black lights work?"  
"No! Do you _think_ black lights will work?" the Doctor spat. Seeming like he regretted saying that, he turned away. "Oh, that was rude, I'm sorry." he said quietly. Sam handed the flashlight to Dean and made his way through the kitchen to the front door. "What're you doing?" The Doctor demanded. With his hand on the knob, Sam opened the door before replying. "I'm going to go see if we have any lights. Do you need anything else?" he yelled into the living room. "No, just _be careful!_ They move fast, so you'd better get back in here quick! And don't touch any abnormal shadows, don't even let _your _shadow touch any abnormal shadows!" the Doctor warned. He turned back to Dean. "I have to go get some suits. _Stay here_. Don't even move. If the shadows start moving, _get out_. I'll be back quick as I can." he said, inching around Dean and sprinting to the front door. He ran down the street, past Sam's car, which he was peering into the trunk of. "Doctor?" Sam called upon seeing the man pass. "What're you doing?"  
"I have to get some suits! Don't come in here!" he replied, flinging open the door of the T.A.R.D.I.S. and ducking inside. After Sam fished out some flood lights, he shut the trunk, locked up the Impala, and was about to head inside until the Doctor's warning started ringing in his ear. _Don't come in here._ The Doctor had made a huge mistake. Now that Sam was curious, there was no _way_ he could not go inside the mysterious blue box. He dumped the flood lights on the porch of the huge house and walked tentatively toward the thing, pushing open the ajar door and slipping inside quietly. He didn't know what he expected to find, but he found something much stranger. The relatively small box had an elephantine interior, with a high, domed ceiling and several hallways branching off of the main room, which seemed to be the control room. The entire place seemed... alien. Sam was just about to fly out of the box and tell Dean when the Doctor surfaced from one of the rooms, holding in his arms a bundle of white cloth and three helmets. He spotted Sam and his face grew red. "What're you doing in here!" he demanded. "I told you not to come in!"  
"Oh, come on. You don't seriously expect me to leave it alone when you specifically tell me to stay out." Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders. "And anyway," he scooped the three helmets into his own arms, relieving the Doctor of that burden. "It looks to me like you need a little help."

"Put these on, and the helmets. Darken the visors so you have a less chance of getting infected." the Doctor commanded, tossing the brothers two white space suits and the helmets to go along with. He slipped into his quickly, so Sam and Dean decided to follow his lead. "Doctor..." Sam said, gesturing toward the kitchen. They left Dean to struggle with his suit while they conversed. "What was that box? The 'Police Public Call Box?" he wondered. The Doctor finished with the last zipper on his suit. "It's called a T.A.R.D.I.S. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."  
"And what does that mean?"  
"It's a spaceship. _My_ spaceship. Well, I stole it, but never mind that. It travels in time and space."  
Sam was about to reply when Dean came stumbling in, having trouble with his suit. "I can't get this stupid..." he slipped and crashed to the floor of the kitchen, cursing. His brother helped him up and forced the suit on him as the Doctor grimaced. "I might've gotten you the wrong size..." he observed, much to Dean's dismay. "Ya think?" he exclaimed. The Doctor took care of all their helmets and darkened the visors with a swipe of his sonic screwdriver. "I don't want to have to tell you another time. _Stay out of the shadows_. Understand?" he demanded, throwing a pointed look at Sam, who nodded earnestly. Dean shrugged and grunted and stumbled back into the living room, scooping up the bundle of lights he had carried in from the porch earlier. "What d'you want us to do with these?" he asked, turning to the Doctor. "Set them up in a circle all around the room, the lights pointing out."  
"Will that stop them?"  
"No, but it'll slow them down. I've dealt with these before, trust me."  
The Doctor plugged the lights into an extension cord sprouting from a port in the middle of the room, under a silver panel on the floor. Immediately, they flickered to life, illuminating the huge, unusually dark room. Dean held one of three flashlights, peering into the dark corners of the room. "I don't see anything different." he shrugged. The Doctor flicked out his sonic screwdriver, scanning the shadows Dean was trying to analyze. He showed Dean the readings and then scanned another, darker shadow in a different corner of the room. "This reading is different from the other. That's how we tell Vashta Nerada from regular shadows. Don't go _anywhere_ outside this circle without my consent." he warned. Dean laughed airily. "Yeah. I think I get it, Doctor. We can't do anything without your okay, deal. Just don't treat us like amateurs."  
"You _are_ amateurs in my field of business." the Doctor retorted.


	4. Chapter 4

They finished setting up the lights rather quickly, and jumped when they heard a pounding on the front door. Dean glanced at Sam, and then they both cast wary looks at the Doctor, who stopped what he was doing and looked up from his work. "Was that them?" Sam wondered quietly. The Doctor put his tongue to the roof of his mouth, keeping still to hear any more sounds. There was silence for a few more seconds, but it was broken by muffled voices and a scratching at the lock of the front door. Dean was about to step out of the circle of light, but the Doctor's arm flew up and across Dean's chest, preventing him from stepping outside the safety circle. "Don't!" the Doctor cried. Dean sighed, rolled his eyes, and backed away from the edge, skulking over to his brother and pouting. They heard muffled voices and the creak of the front door swinging open, and a group of people shuffling into the house. Suddenly, they quieted and a male voice broke through the silence. "What was that?" he asked. "Maybe a ghost?" a female voice suggested. Murmuring came from the group and could be heard getting louder and louder as they approached the living room. Finally, they were in sight and Sam, Dean, and two men in the small group of four sighed heavily with aggravation. All four disgruntled men muttered curses under their breath, until Dean was the first to speak. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?" he demanded hotly. One man in particular looked especially peeved. "We should be asking _you_ that!" he protested. Sam stepped forward, assuming an intimidating stance. "_We _are the professionals here, get it? Now get out, while you still can. This is more dangerous than anything you've ever faced-" the Doctor was interrupted by a snort of laughter coming from Dean. He glared back as Dean put a hand to his face and quietly chuckled to himself. "'Faced'... he said 'faced'... Ghost_face_rs..." he looked up, glancing at everyone and waiting for someone else to laugh. When met with only blank stares or disgruntled sighs, he returned to his usual serious demeanor and crossed his arms over his chest. "As I was saying..." the Doctor began again, with a pointed glare at Dean. "This is more dangerous than anything you've ever... had to _deal_ with. This isn't ghosts." he said darkly. The two leaders of the small group glanced at each other, smirking. "If it isn't ghosts, then what could it possibly be?" they demanded. "Aliens."

"Aliens?" one man snorted. "'Aliens' aren't real." he insisted. The Doctor approached the man, though he stayed inside the safety circle. "You. What's your name?" he demanded. "Um... Harry. Harry Spangler. And this is Ed Zeddmore, along with Lucy Luxorm, and Tish Luxorm. Our team." he said, gesturing around to the members of his group. "Alright then, Harry, Ed, Lucy, Tish. If you don't think aliens are real, then leave. Just go. Now. While you still have a chance." the Doctor advised. Harry smirked. "No way, buddy. We're not leaving until we've cracked this case." he insisted. Sam and Dean looked at each other in dismay, before Sam approached the team. "I know we're not exactly allies, but you've got to listen to the Doctor here. He's right, this isn't like anything we've ever seen. When Dean and I arrived here, he was already in this room, scoping everything out. We didn't trust him one bit, but then he went outside, to get us some lights to put around the room. There's this... Police Public Call Box outside, you saw it when you came in, right?"  
The group nodded. "It's a spaceship. I went inside, and it's... it's bigger on the inside! Larger, _much_ larger, with separate rooms and everything!" Sam exclaimed, throwing his arms out for more effect. Dean snorted. "C'mon Sammy. Even _I_ don't believe that." he protested, crossing his arms. The Doctor looked over his shoulder at the man. "No, he's telling the truth. I do have a spaceship that's bigger on the inside, called a TARDIS. Well, actually it stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Means it can travel in time _as well as _space." the Doctor rattled on. Everyone else in the room glared at him hotly, a sign that he should stop. Zeddmore tried to enter the circle, but the Doctor quickly stopped him. "Stop! Stop, don't even step foot in this room! The aliens, they're called the Vashta Nerada, and they'll strip you to the bone in under a second. You've got to trust me." he said hurriedly. A woman, Harry had introduced her as Lucy Luxorm, tentatively stepped forward. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" she asked quietly, training her camera, which was on and had been taping the entire conversation, on the Doctor. He whirled around and tore another leg off of the turkey Sam and Dean had pulled out of the fridge. Turning on his heel and carefully studying the shadows. When he found the right one, he tossed the leg inside, and it was clean to the bone before it even touched the ground. Lucy and Tish gasped in horror, and even Ed, along with Harry, paled a bit. "Well... that can't be an alien, I'm sure some supernatural beings can do that. Right?" Harry stuttered, glancing at the Winchesters. They shook their heads and the Ghostfacers faltered.

The Doctor situated the lights in such a way as to form a pathway for the Ghostfacers to enter the safety circle, quickly sealing it behind them. "So. Aliens." Tish said quietly. She looked as if she was in a trance, but quickly snapped out of it and extended her hand to the Winchesters and the Doctor. "Sorry, I'm Tish. My sister and I just joined the team, so we're quite amateurs. You Winchesters have taught the Ghostfacers practically everything we know, so thanks... i guess." she shrugged, setting up base. Lucy went around to everyone in the room with her camera, asking varying questions. She finally reached the Doctor, and her curiosity seemed to heighten. "Who are you?" she asked. He looked at the camera and made a face. "Is that thing really necessary?" he whined. At her nod, the Doctor sighed. "Oh well. I'm the Doctor."  
"Doctor who?"  
"Just the Doctor, mind you."  
"And what do you do, Doctor? Are you a Hunter? A... alien Hunter?"  
"Of a sort. But I don't do killing. Well, when I say 'I don't do killing', I mean I don't particularly enjoy it. Sometimes it's necessary. Oh I really hate admitting that."  
"So... aliens are real?"  
"Of course they are. Real as you and me standing here. D'you happen to remember, a few years ago when millions of people in America died because they turned into piles of fat? And then the fat started walking around and floating into these great heaping flying saucers?"  
"Sure, I remember. Happened on my birthday."  
"What did you think that was?"  
"I dunno... I guess I didn't think it was really anything. Maybe some really big prank or something?"  
"Aliens."  
"How many aliens have you come across?"  
"Thousands. Millions, maybe. Hard to tell, I don't really keep track anymore."  
"Are _you_ an alien?" Lucy questioned, her voice barely over a whisper. The Doctor looked at her, then at the camera, and finally back down at the sonic screwdriver in his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sam and Dean undoing their helmets, and he sprinted to them, exclaiming loudly. "What're you doing! Put those back on, _right now_!" he demanded angrily. They immediately replaced their helmets, their eyes wide. "We were just getting a little stuffy." Sam protested. The Doctor stared him down with fire in his eyes. "I don't care. Would you rather be a bit stuffy or die a horrible death?" he interrogated harshly. Without another word, Sam and Dean skulked off, moaning about how there wasn't anything else to do. "They're right, Doctor. It doesn't seem as if we can do anything else." Harry objected. The Doctor nodded. "That may be true, but I have to find a way of getting the Vashta Nerada out of here. This home will be sold again, and they're already here. Family after family will die, until you humans get it through your thick heads that there's something wrong with this house. Eventually it'll either be taken down or abandoned, but either way more and more people will die. The Vashta Nerada don't stop. They _never stop_." he said, causing chills to run down everyone's spines. Ed finished setting up a surveillance computer and looked at the Doctor quizzically. "Well, they die, don't they? I mean, everything dies, after a while." he insisted. The Doctor turned his old eyes to the man, and he backed away an inch or two. "They die, but, like humans, they repopulate."  
"How fast? Cockroach fast?"  
"Humans, cockroaches, same thing! Same birth rate. Mind you, humans sometimes _act_ like cockroaches. The human race. God, you're thick."  
Dean's brow furrowed in anger, but with a gentle hand on his shoulder from Sam, he calmed down enough to speak to the Doctor. "Alright, so what you're saying is we can't kill these bastards, but somehow we have to get them to move out. Let's start from the beginning then. How'd they get here?" he wondered. The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at him, causing Dean to duck out of the way. "Hey! Watch where you point that thing!" he exclaimed harshly. The Doctor looked at the sonic screwdriver and made a face. "Oh, come off it! This thing is _far_ from dangerous! In fact, the most dangerous thing it can do is... sometimes it blows things up. But that's _not_ on purpose! Trust me, I would prefer it not happen. Still working out the kinks." he ranted, flicking the screwdriver on and off again. "Anyway, brilliant question. Fantastic! _Molto bene_! How did the Vashta Nerada get here? They hatch from forests, from _trees, their_ trees, not just _any_ trees..." the Doctor mumbled to himself. "Last time they weren't in their natural habitat was in the Library. They said the books were their trees... books... trees... _BOOKS__!_" he screamed, flinging a finger of realization in the air. "Books! Books are the answer! Go around the room, look for any books you can find, bring them to me, but _be careful_!" he instructed everyone. The Doctor pushed all the Ghostblasters' equipment haphazardly to one side of the table, clearing space for the books. "And don't let your shadows cross! Ghostblasters, I'm sorry, but I don't have any suits for you. I'll let one of you have mine, but Sam and Dean have to make that decision on their own." he said as he unzipped his white spacesuit. Sam and Dean froze, glancing at each other, but continued searching for books as the Doctor slipped out of his suit and handed it to Tish. "Put this on." he instructed her. She set down the equipment and did as he instructed while the others brought back the books. "Alright. One or more of these books are alien. Paper made from alien trees, so they're alien books. Make sense?"  
All nodded.  
"Good. Now, look through these books and find anything unusual. Once you find something, tell me _immediately._ ASAP. Got it?"  
Again, everyone nodded.  
"Brilliant. Allons-y; get to work." the Doctor grinned as he slipped on his glasses.


	5. Chapter 5

Sooner than later, books were piled on top of the little table in the center of the room. Lucy Luxorm approached the Doctor nervously. "Um... Doctor, I know this isn't exactly the right time, but... we're called the Ghost_facers, _not the Ghost_blasters_." she informed him. He whirled around and regarded her almost angrily. "Really, do you _think _this is the right time? One wrong move, we're stripped of our flesh, and you're worried about your little team _name_? Lucy, really. Get a grip!" he scolded. Suddenly he made a shocked face, seemingly taken aback by himself. "Oh, that was _rude_! Sorry, sorry, being rude again. A little bit of my past regeneration bleeding through... You're lucky I had Rose. She toned it down a bit, didn't she then?" he began prattling off to himself. Suddenly he got very quiet and very sad, staring at the pile of books with mournful woe. Lucy was about to ask about Rose, but Tish wandered over, holding her precious camera. "Doctor? What happens now? You've got all the books in the living room, like you requested, so now what? Are we going to read through each one until we find something?" she interviewed. The Doctor didn't look at the camera, only scooped up a book, leafed through it, scanned a few pages with the sonic screwdriver, and tossed the book carelessly behind him, where it landed with a _thud!_ in the shadows. "No. _I_ go through the books, and you all just... sit. Stay there. Nothing into the shadows. If you like, you can have a bite, but _do not_ move." he warned icily. Lucy sighed in frustration at her sister's intrusion and grudgingly walked to Harry and Ed, quietly conversing as Sam and Dean sauntered over to the Doctor. "Anything we can do?" Sam inquired. The Doctor tore himself from the books and flashed their helmets quickly with the sonic screwdriver, darkening the visors. "What the hell!" Dean exclaimed. The Doctor turned back around to the books as they tried to peer through the dark. "What was that?"  
"Darkened your visors. Harder for the Vashta Nerada to get inside; they'll _think_ they're already in there. Hopefully. Last time..." he cut himself off before anything could slip out, but Dean wasn't fooled. "Last time what? You better tell us, Doctor, or so help me I'll shoot you in the eye."  
"Oh, you're that lot? All the guns and explosions and bullets? Blimey, out of six billion humans I get stuck with the ones that like to kill. Lucky, I am."  
"I'm going to pretend I didn't here that and restate my question. _Last time what_?"  
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you if you really want to know. Last time, Darkening the visor didn't work. Well, granted, she was already being infected- two shadows and all - so you might be safe."  
"'Might'?"  
"C'mon Dean. You've been through worse situations than this!" Sam protested. The Doctor perked up, but continued scanning the books, suddenly interested. "Worse? What could possibly be worse? Well, actually there are a lot of things that are worse than the Vashta Nerada, these are tame compared to some."  
"For instance?"  
"Daleks, Weeping Angels, Sontarans, even the Master, I'd think."  
"Who are they? Other aliens?"  
"Yeah. The most dangerous and deadly creatures in the Universe, the only things to kill you nicely- unless they already have enough energy and don't need more -the aliens that relish war and death- much like Daleks, but less deadly and dangerous -and one of my own. Driven mad by our people and made to be the perfect warrior."  
"You said you were the last."  
"Oh, I am. He either died or was sent back to the Time War. Along with my planet."  
"Your planet? Oh my God! Those... planets in the sky a few years back? Those were your planets?"  
"No, those were other planets. But, good idea, remember those things in the sky? The big, flying things that came down and starting killing everyone?"  
"Yeah! They were all over the place!"  
"Yes, they were, and _those_ were Daleks!"  
"You mean... those are the most deadly and dangerous creatures in the Universe? They used plungers and whisks as weapons!"  
"Yes, well, no. Well, kind of. But that doesn't matter, they're still evil." the Doctor finished with a nod of the head. "Anyways, you were saying you've been through worse?"  
"Yeah, Dean here went to Hell for a while."  
"What?"  
"Yeah. I died, he sold his soul to a demon, and when his time was up, he went to Hell."  
"And he's back because...?"  
"An angel swooped down from Heaven and rescued me from the Pit." Dean replied for his brother. The Doctor made an disbelieving face. "Angels and demons? Heaven and Hell? What kind of human religion is this?" he demanded. Sam snorted. "This isn't a religion, Doctor. What? After all your years- how many? Twenty? Maybe even thirty?- you haven't fought a single demon or a single angel?"  
"Not thirty, try nine-hundred. And _no!_ I've fought something that liked to believe it was Satan, yes, but I can't know for sure! You can never know for sure!"  
"Wait... what?"  
"Yes, I killed the Devil. Happy?"  
"No, you said you're nine-hundred? You don't look older than thirty."  
"Really? Oh, that _is_ rather depressing. I look _thirty? Thirty?_ Don't tell me I've gotten wrinkles. You know what, if my next regeneration looks sixty, I'll-" the Doctor's tirade was cut short by a drawn out scream exploding from one side of the room. He tossed down the book he was holding and sprinted to the scene, his long legs carrying him there in a matter of seconds. "What? What's happened!" he demanded. Tish was there, still holding her camera, but she was shaking so violently that she couldn't have been taping very excellent footage. "L-Lucy went outside the circle to get a b-book she s-saw, and-and..." she sobbed, unable to finish. Harry was by her side, rubbing her arm and comforting her quietly, while Ed only stared with a pallid complexion at the gleaming skeleton just outside the circle of light. One bony hand had fallen inside, beyond the floodlights, a finger pointing at nothing in particular. The Doctor stooped down on one knee and flicked on the sonic screwdriver, running the blue tip along the bones of the hand. Ed looked down at the Doctor with disbelief shining past the tears welling in his large, round eyes. "You're kidding me. _That's_ the alien? _That's_what it does?" he swallowed down vomit and turned away from Lucy's corpse. "Yes. It isn't too late to get out now. Just run. There's no shame in running." he advised. Harry puffed out his chest, overcome with pride and stubbornness. "Of course there is! We're _not_ running away. We'll stay until either all of us are dead, or the alien is dead. And that is that." he insisted. The Doctor sighed. "Very well. Doesn't seem like I can stop you, does it?"  
"Nope."  
"Fine. Just... take a hint from poor Lucy and don't set a _toe_ outside this circle. Got it?"  
"Yessir."  
"Good. Now I'll finish with the books, and you _stay in the circle_." the Doctor hissed, pointing his sonic screwdriver aggressively at the remaining five humans. They all nodded obediently and milled about, making polite conversation with each other, though Harry and the Winchesters made an effort to stay away from each other. The Doctor watched them out of the corner of his eyes as he finished with the books, growling to himself while he tossed the very last one into the shadows. Suddenly, his face brightened, and his eyes widened, and he sprinted to one side of the circle, peering into the shadows. Dean and Sam were the first to spot his sudden movement, and were quickly by his side, trying to see what he did. "The book! Tish said Lucy was after a book she saw. _Tish!_" he called over his shoulder. She was immediately by his side, filming still. "Find the book your sister saw." commanded the Doctor. She nodded and gave the camera to Ed quickly before snatching the Doctor's torch from him. "I-I can't see it anymore! It's too dark!" she stuttered in shock. The Doctor smiled and jumped excitedly. "Oh yes!" he cried triumphantly. "And I'm gonna go find it!"


	6. Chapter 6

Dean snorted and glanced at Sam with disbelief. "_What?_" he demanded, incredulous. The Doctor grinned madly. "Yes! I'm going to go get the book! I scanned the shadows quickly, and I'm certain that _that_ book is the source! They're thicker over there, see." he explained. Tish approached the Doctor, training the camera on his face. "You're going to go get the book? What about the Van-Vast-Vashta Nerada? Won't they... y'know."  
"Well, they'll try, but if I can fool them into thinking they're already inside my suit, then I have a chance of surviving."  
"And if they see past you?"  
"Then say your final goodbyes, eh?" the Doctor laughed, but all could see the real fear in his eyes. He looked around at the three people that had suits imploringly. "Now, I dunno if any of you are willing, but I'll need one of those, if you don't mind." Dean quickly unscrewed his helmet and tossed it to the Doctor, beginning to strip off the suit. "Mine. You can take mine." he said, peeling the rest of it off. The Doctor caught the item and immediately began to slip it over his tall, slim body. When he was finished, he beamed at all of them comfortingly and popped on the helmet, following the motion up by darkening the visor. "Don't wait up. If I die in there, you all need to _get out. _I don't _care_ about your little television program, I don't _care_ about your reputations; all I _care_ about is that all of you get out of here alive." he insisted. Harry stepped forward defiantly. "Oh, yeah? What about Lucy? _She_ didn't get outta here alive, did she? What happened to her?"  
"She died. I'm sorry; I'm so, so sorry, but I couldn't help her. Take her as an example and _do what I say_. If I get slaughtered, _get out_." the Doctor reinstated. Everyone nodded meekly and the Doctor darkened his own visor, taking a deep breath and preparing to go into the shadows.

"Okay! Where did she say the book was?"  
"To the left a little, then straight forward. Yeah, keep going." Ed called. The Doctor continued, following Ed's directions until he arrived at a little coffee table against the far wall of the room. He couldn't see; the darkness was too thick, so he felt around on the table until his hand stumbled across the book. He scooped it up and tucked it under his arm, then whirled around, to find... nothing. Just white, everywhere he could see. The Doctor quickly unscrewed his helmet and turned on his heel, surveying all around him, but he could only see the harsh, bleak color. "What?" he demanded nobody in particular. Suddenly, from the brightness, a man stepped forward. He wore a pale brown trench coat over a suit with a blue tie, and his face was clean, though unshaven. "Hello Doctor." the man said. His voice was deep and rough, and the Doctor extended a hand. Suddenly, he yanked the hand back, looking down at his body. Somehow the suit had disappeared from his body and he was wearing only his brown pinstripe suit. He looked up at the strange man, who emanated an aura of power. "Who are you?" the Doctor inquired.  
"Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord."  
"Brilliant! So, erm, does that mean I'm... y'know. Dead?"  
"No. You're still alive."  
"So this isn't... Heaven? Or Hell?"  
"No. This is Limbo, the space between."  
"Oh, Limbo! Isn't that brilliant! I've been to a planet called Limbo, not nearly as... white as this. Erm, why exactly am I here, then?"  
"Because we need you, Doctor. We need you here and now. Something powerful is waking up. Something terrible and dangerous. As far as we can tell, you're the only one that can stop it. You and another."  
"Another? Who's that, then?"  
"A woman. Her name is Rose Tyler."  
The Doctor paled. "Rose...? B-But she... we can't ever see each other again! She's in an entirely different _Universe__!_"  
"Do you really believe that something as petty as that can stop the One that _created_ both Universes?"  
"Well, I dunno, but-"  
"You're not telling me you don't _want_ to see her, are you?"  
"No! No, most definitely not! I'd- you have no _idea_ how much I'd love to see her! But it's physically impossible."  
"Not for us. Just... I'll get back to you in three years. Be ready."

The Doctor was shocked back into the darkness, his suit on and the book in his hand. He squinted and shook his head, turning back and striding into the circle of light. He looked over his shoulder nervously before tossing the book onto the little coffee table and immediately stripped his suit off, throwing it in Dean's direction. The man put the suit on and everyone glared at the Doctor curiously. "Doctor?" Sam inquired. The Doctor ignored the man's inquiry and flipped open the book, whipping through the pages. Suddenly, he held the book extremely close to his eyes, peering at it. "Doctor!" Dean demanded impatiently. The Doctor acted as if he'd said nothing and instead licked the pages of the book. "What the hell are you doing?" the impatient American pressed. The Doctor smiled up at him. "I found the Vashta Nerada's source!" he said excitedly. Sam and Dean bounded up to the Doctor, staring at the book, and then at him. "What do we do with it?"  
"We have to find a way to destroy it."  
"Why don't we burn it?"  
The Doctor looked up at Dean - who'd suggested the idea - with bewilderment. "Why would that work?" he inquired. Dean glanced at his brother and then shrugged. "Well, because when we fight ghosts, we have to burn their bones or whatever's left of them in order for them to die. Maybe that's the same deal with the Vashta Nerada."  
"Actually that's not a bad idea. You're brilliant, you two!"  
"What about us? We've been helping you!" Harry demanded. The Doctor looked back at what was left of the Ghostfacers and nodded, smiling politely. "Erm, yeah. You too. You're all brilliant." he stuttered. Ed and Harry exchanged angry glances and Tish smiled softly as the Doctor immediately began to work feverishly. He gathered the book and the turkey and rearranged the floodlights to allow them access into the kitchen. He made the Ghostfacers pass through first, and then the Winchesters, and then himself, but then he realized: someone was missing. He whirled around frantically, seeking out Tish, until he found her. She was still standing in the circle, but she wasn't moving forward. "Tish, come on. We don't have much time."  
"I think I've got less than you guys."  
"What d'you mean?"  
"Sorry, guys." Tish said sadly, tears falling off of her face. She looked down between the floodlights, as did the Doctor, and he looked back up at her quietly. So quiet. And so sad. Mournfully, he stared at her with his big brown eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." he whispered. Harry aggressively grabbed his shoulder and whirled the skinny man around. "What? What the hell are you saying that for?"  
"I really am. I'm _so_ sorry."  
Harry started to cross back into the circle but both Sam and Dean stopped him, made aware of the darkness that blocked Tish's path to safety. "Don't!" Sam yelled. He kept a watchful eye on the writhing shadows invading the fomerly nicknamed 'Safety Circle'. Harry became aware of his gaze and looked down at the shadows as well, then looked back up at Tish. "Oh my God. Tish..." he whispered. Ed looked on with horror, his face pale and the perspiration coating it not helping his pallor. "Latisha..." he choked. She started to cry, but slipped her hand out of the strap on the side of her camera and tossed it gently to Harry. He didn't seem to care that it was still rolling and handed it to Ed, who fulfilled his duties of filming. "You... you were _amazing._ Cool? Thanks so much, Tish."  
Ed stepped forward shakily. Tish looked at him with wide, wet eyes. "Ed... I love you." she blurted. The Doctor and the Winchesters left the house and the three of them to say their goodbyes, and soon they heard a heartwrenching sob and a scream cut too short. Sam and Dean exchanged wary looks as the Doctor simply sighed with melancholy and trudged down the road to his big blue box. He slipped the key in the keyhole and ducked inside, the door creaking shut behind him. Dean glanced at Sam and then sprinted to the box, pounding on the door with his fist. "Doctor! Doctor, let us in, dammit!" he bellowed. He stumbled back as the doors immediately swung open and he sauntered in, raising a fist and getting ready to shout until he saw what he was in.

"I - it's bigger on the inside!" Dean realized. Sam crept inside behind him, smirking. "I told you." he whispered. His brother whirled around and regarded him with hostile curiosity. "What the hell is this?"  
"I... erm... Actually I don't really know."  
"Well that's just great. My braniac kid brother doesn't know what the hell we're standing in."  
"It's a TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's my spaceship. Well, and it's a time machine but I like calling it a spaceship. It's just catchy, innit?" the Doctor answered, poking his head around the green-blue glowing Time Rotor in the center of the room. Dean smiled disbelievingly. "You're kidding. You've got a _time machine?_" he demanded as he looked up at the impossibly huge room they stood in. The Doctor grinned despite the circumstances and animatedly pulled a lever, making the control room tremble and shake. "Close the door, will you! We're about to fly through the Time Vortex; there's gonna be a draft!" he shouted over the ruckus. Sam snapped to attention and reached behind him to shut the door quickly while Dean circled the control panel for the thing and the Doctor watched him with interest at how he would react. "You okay?" he asked quietly, a smug look on his face. Dean grinned. "Okay? I'm _way_ beyond 'okay', bub. This is... it's... it's _really cool_!" he shouted. Sam leaned against the rails and kept his awe contained, and the Doctor frowned. "'Really cool'? It's better than 'really cool'. It's _brilliant!_ Time Lord technology! The greatest inventors in the Universe! Tell you what, once we take care of these Vashta Nerada I'll take you both anywhere you want. Past or future, space or time or both." he assured them. Sam gripped his lighter with a grim demeanor. "Where're we gonna burn them?"  
"Burn them? No! No, we're not gonna _burn them._ What do you take me as? Some sort of... some sort of... murderer? No. The swarm follows the source. We're taking them to their respective planet!"


End file.
